MLS State of the Union Address – Commissioner Garber speaks

View full sizeKip Kesgard, community blogger. Shown here at a luncheon at Portland's Multnomah Athletic Club, MLS Commissioner Don Garber provided his MLS State of the Union address on November 16. The league is gaining in exposure and credibility as a viable soccer league, but they still face some questions for the future, such as expansion, conference alignment, and playoff structure.

Roster Expansion: MLS clubs will be able to carry 30 players for the 2011 season, up from 26 allowed this past year. The first 24 spots belong to any player, but roster spots 25 through 30 are specifically designated for players 24 years old or younger and these players’ salaries will not count towards the overall payroll budget. While designated players might draw splashy attention, it seems that MLS is putting a premium on teams building a framework to build a successful side with home grown talent.

MLS Exposure: MLS expects to announce additional league sponsors over the next two months, and should have shirt sponsors secured for all 2011 clubs in time for the March kickoff. Sponsorship has added upwards of $30 million in extra revenue, and with the recent success of the World Cup, there are groups lining up to join the MLS family. MLS is also working with their broadcast partners to improve the quality of matches and maximize exposure in a soccer market that is getting cluttered. With matches from around the world easily available, MLS realizes that it must do more to make their matches stand out in the landscape.

MLS Schedule: Each MLS team will play 34 matches starting the weekend of March 19 – 20, 2011.

While these are all important announcements, there are still plenty of outstanding questions that will be answered soon:

MLS Schedule/Table: We know the number of matches, but Garber would not comment on whether the schedule will include a balanced number of games with each team or have a weighted schedule highlighted with more regional matchups. The topic of conference alignment also came up quite a bit, and Garber would only state that it’s an issue to be talked about. With 18 teams in 2011, there is an ability to achieve a balanced schedule and alignment, but with Montreal joining MLS in 2012, the balance is thrown off again. There are also World Cup qualifiers and an increased emphasis on the CONCACAF Champions League that will add some complexity to putting out a schedule, as he indicated it could be early February before anything official is announced.

MLS Expansion: It’s no secret MLS wants a second club in New York, and has been talking to the Wilpon family (owners of the New York Mets baseball team) and the holders of the Cosmos rights to make the Cosmos the 20th team to join MLS, possibly as early as 2013. However, Garber also said meaningful conversations have occurred about expansion in other areas, such as Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Atlanta and San Diego. He said that he can’t imagine not having a club south of Washington, DC in the MLS lineup at some point; it’s likely that MLS will need to move beyond 20 teams to accomplish that.